MSC Divina Eastern Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 5: December 17, 2014

Speedos have made it to breakfast! While going through the buffet line this morning, two men, in what I would estimate to be their mid-60s, were standing in line wearing their nut catchers with a pool towel draped over their shoulders. Today is a sea day, so it’s expected that casual would be the theme of the day, but there are some things you don’t want to be looking at this early in the morning.

While I’m on the subject of bathing attire, let’s discuss nudity. Years ago, Carnival ships had their own topless deck. A private area where women could throw their tops to the wind and tan, while men gawked and teenage boys would try to sneak a peek. Topless decks aren’t around anymore, at least on ships that appeal to American passengers as topless sunbathing is more of a European thing that doesn’t appeal to prudes from the states.

Yesterday afternoon, after my return from ashore in San Juan, I headed up to MSC Divina’s Garden Terrace which is home to the ship’s infinity pool and the Disaronno Contemporary bar.

The pool was busy and lounge chairs were scarce. People of all ages were either using the pool, laying in the sun, or sucking down a frozen beverage. A family with their daughter and son, who I estimate to be around 6 and 8 respectively, were using the pool and while mom and dad were in their bathing suits, the children were not.

The kids were in the pool naked, walking around the pool deck naked, and using the shower naked. Other kids would stare and giggle as kids do, while we adults turned our heads and muttered something along the lines of, “who lets their kids walk around naked like this.” A lady who was sitting at the bar next to me was upset because the crew was not asking the parents to dress their children. When it was time for them to leave, the father dried the kids off, left their towels on a lounger, and proceed to walk naked through the ship, hopefully back to their stateroom for some clothes.

With ships being a melting pot of cultures, it’s not uncommon to be shocked by what’s the norm to some and taboo to others. Just like Speedos seem to always be worn by those who shouldn’t wear them, “shocking” events such as pool deck nudity always is one of those culture clashes that make you stop and say, “we don’t do that in America, but they do it in ____.”

The Divina arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico around 7:30am AT and we were cleared by the local authorities to disembark at exactly 8:00am AT. Out of all the times I’ve visited San Juan on other ships, this was the first time we had an early arrival time. Other cruises had the ship arriving at 1pm and our departure time set for midnight, allowing time for passengers to have dinner ashore and experience some Puerto Rican nightlife. Alongside us were the Carnival Dream and the Disney Fantasy, so I guess an early San Juan port call isn’t unique to MSC.

After a quick breakfast in the ship’s buffet, which was pretty much empty because most passengers disembarked immediately upon being cleared, I headed out to do what I do during each visit to San Juan – walk to El Morro.

The fort, built hundreds of years ago to protect the city from invasion, stands sentry at the entrance of San Juan Bay and is the first glimpse of Puerto Rico you see as the ship pulls in. It’s now under the control of the United States National Park Service and is one of the most popular attractions in San Juan. Just a short walk from the pier, you can do two things at El Morro, go up to the actual fort itself and take a tour, or walk around the ocean-side path that winds around the structure providing views of the fort above and the bay. From the ship to the end of the walking path and back to the ship, is about a 2.5-mile walk and it’s a hot walk. Bring water, wear a hat, and apply some sunscreen. Advice I don’t follow, but curse myself every time for not adhering to it.

There’s also some wildlife you’re going to encounter along El Morro, feral cats. Lots of them. They use the grounds as a litter box with no human to scoop up after them, so along with the view and the history associated with El Morro, you also get an oftentimes unwanted aromatic experience as well. Signs along the walkway let you know that feeding or abandoning the cats is prohibited and the National Park Service and the “Save A Gato” organization is responsible for the care and feeding of the feline residents.

When I reached the observation area at the end of the walking path, off in the distance was the Holland America Line ship, ms Eurodam preparing to make her arrival at San Juan Bay. The “Mighty E,” as she is affectionately called, is my favorite ship. I’ve been on her many times watching the arrival into San Juan, so having the opportunity to see her arrival from shore was something I didn’t want to miss.

I texted a friend of mine who has been on the Eurodam as well and sent some photos saying I was going to hang around and watch her sail in. Well, you never know how slow a ship actually moves until you’re waiting for one to come in! It was a good hour from the time she appeared on the horizon, to the time the pilot boat headed out to greet her and finally passed the breakwaters just a couple of hundred feet from where I was standing. She sailed majestically past as others besides me were snapping photos and waving to those onboard lined up on the outside decks and balconies.

As she headed towards the pier, I bid adieu to El Morro, knowing I’ll see it again very soon. With sweat rolling off my bald head and my shoulders and back burnt from the blazing Puerto Rican sun, I began my journey back into town. On other visits, several sidewalk vendors line the plaza leading up to El Morro, today there were very few, and foot traffic was light. Christmas decorations lined the street and lines for the very primitive pay-to-pee toilet facility were at least a dozen deep.

With time to spare and five days of dessert to work off, I continued my walk and hit some of the narrow side streets along the port area where cruise ship passengers flock to spend money on t-shirts, souvenirs, and (hopefully not knock-off) watches and jewelry. I found where all the people were, they were racking up their credit card bills instead of taking in some history!

As I meandered around, I noticed a cigar shop across the street. Wondering if they would have any Cuban cigars, I wandered in only to find the typical variety you’ll see in any stateside cigar store. I picked up a Maker’s Mark Dominican as well as a three-pack of house-made cigars and a new torch lighter. $45 plus 6% tax and another 1% tax. No tax and duty-free shopping going on here. Welcome to pseudo-America!

One more stop before heading back to the ship and that was to CVS to pick up some Hawaiian Tropic. I and about 150 other people decided to do the same thing. While standing in line, I drank two bottles of Diet Coke in a quick attempt to rehydrate, and out of nowhere an officer of the MSC Divina cut right in front of me in line to purchase toenail clippers. I bit my tongue and kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want to risk getting into a confrontation with someone who may or may not have the power to disembark me.

As I walked back to the ship I ran into someone who I’d encountered a couple of times on the ship. Young guy, Italian, and very friendly. At times… too friendly. Growing up in an Italian family, you get used to having your cheeks pinched by aunts who have the grip of a steelworker and a mother who can use a wooden spoon as an assault rifle. Men kissing other men on the cheek and hugging is an acceptable greeting and a sign of respect. When I encountered this guy on the ship, I’ve gotten the kissy-huggy “hello Pisano” greeting every time. When I met him with my bag of goodies on the way back to the ship, he asked what I bought. I told him cigars and tanning oil.

The rest of the conversation went something like this:

“I see you get some burn today.”

Yep.

“You no use-a-sun block?”

No.

“But you buy some now?”

Yes.

“Can I rub some on-a you head?”

I chuckled, not knowing what to do and after a pregnant pause, I said, “sure, whatever works for you.”

I walked away thanking Buddha I didn’t pick up the chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

Back on board, I headed up to the Garden Terrace to work on the day’s update and while enjoying a couple of vodka Red Bulls I met a group of people who are traveling together. I used that opportunity to solicit their opinions on the Divina so far. With most of them having at least a half-dozen cruises under their belts – some on MSC and some not – I felt these folks had a pretty good pulse on what makes for good and bad on a ship.

They all gave high marks for the entertainment onboard, even with each offering being noticeably European in nature and low budget when it comes to sets and lack of a live band. We discussed the opera and they all attended and enjoyed it. We discussed Pavarotti on the big screen at the pool deck and all noted that it was very strange that they would show something like that on a ship based out of America.

This group of people ate at Galaxy Restaurant, one of the ships ala carte and fixed-price food venues that serve what they call Mediterranean fusion cuisine, on Saturday night. Like myself, they all gave it high marks. The topic then moved to the main dining room where you either have early or late seating, no come-whenever-you-want dining unless you booked the additional cost Aurea experience with your stateroom. About 2/3 of the group had no complaints about the food served in the main dining room, while the remaining 1/3 complained about portion sizes – to which someone yelled – “just tell them you want more, you’re on a cruise!” Everyone said the food was average. Nobody said it was bad and nobody said it was great. A resounding average was the consensus from the group.

Everyone raved about the pasta – with the exception of the lasagna on the buffet, which someone said: “was just bad and disappointing.” Pizza from the buffet was also a big hit with the group and none of them have tried Eataly Pizza for dinner yet.

When asked what they thought about salad missing from most menus, they found it strange as well.  They shared in my disappointment that the specialty restaurants, with the exception of Eataly Steakhouse, do not offer a salad with dinner.

The group gave the ship high marks for design, stateroom layout, and size, the artwork onboard, and of course, the Swarovski crystal staircase with is the centerpiece of the ship’s atrium. As a group, they said they have been treated extremely well by the ship’s staff and had accommodated their needs by giving them a private area for a gathering each evening, which I was extended an invitation to.

With sail away time approaching, I wrapped up what I was doing and headed down to my stateroom to watch the departure from the comfort of my balcony as I really had enough sun for the day. As our scheduled departure time came and went, the cruise director came on and made an announcement that our departure would be delayed due to a medical emergency with one of our passengers. It wasn’t until almost 6pm AT (two hours late) that we left San Juan, in the wake of the Disney Fantasy.

Not having dinner reservations for tonight, my plan was to grab dinner in the ship’s buffet to see what suppertime was like on Deck 15, then catch the 8:45pm show in the Pantheon Theatre, Pirates Billy Bones. At 8pm I headed upstairs and when I walked into the buffet was completely shocked by the number of people there. The lines for the different stations were between 10 and 14 deep, the community high-tops were full and an empty table was impossible to find.

Obviously, the buffet was a hot spot for dinner and you can instantly pick out the Americans from the crowd. They were the ones with overflowing plates, sometimes one in each hand. Non-Americans took a little of this, a little of that, and didn’t pile it on. Now I’m not picking on my fellow citizens, but this is something you take notice of. I see it at breakfast each morning, heaps of food piled on plates and most of it ends up being wasted. Other passengers, such as those of Asian descent, take small amounts of food and don’t waste a thing.

Not wanting to get involved with this seething mass of humanity, I high-tailed it out of there and headed up one more deck to see if I could grab dinner at the Galaxy Restaurant. Being that there was only one other table beside myself, I was accommodated without reservations.  Unfortunately, this would make me miss the evening’s show at the Pantheon Theatre.

Having enjoyed the Duck Breast Morsels and the house-made pasta with lobster during my previous visit, I ordered those again changing up my main entree and opting for the Pistachio Crusted Lamb. I shied away from this the other night due to the fact I’m allergic to pistachios and I was told by my server they can’t make it without them. Knowing that the worst that could happen to me would be a prolonged bout of itching, I threw caution to the wind and just scraped the nut crust off the double-cut chop and enjoyed.

While small, it was very tasty, prepared medium well with just enough pink. Normally when I eat lamb I can taste something in the meat that tells me it’s not beef. There was no mutton taste here at all, which was a welcome relief, as I don’t like any type of meat that is gamey or has a taste that is “off.” My only regret was not asking for a second chop. By the way, the lamb was served over mashed potatoes.

For dessert, I asked my server to pick something for me and he chose a mango sorbet, which was unremarkable. After all, it’s sorbet.

During dinner, the sax player who was playing the other night was once again entertaining in the restaurant. When he wrapped up his duties there, I encountered him again later in the evening at the Garden Terrace where he relieved a guitar/harmonica-playing soloist who was entertaining around the bar. I spent the evening under the stars as we sailed northward counting the stars and sipping some unique Disaronno cocktails on a breezy, yet warm evening – the perfect ending to a very busy day.

Before I wrap up today’s installment, I received some questions from my readers that I want to address:

Hey Scott, enjoying your review. We are booked on the Divina in February and was wondering if you can take pictures of the closet in your room. We have a balcony and after you said you ran out of closet space, I’m concerned my husband will not have room once I fill it up. Thanks.

Closet space is tight, and I did fill mine up. Perhaps it’s due to the theft-proof thick hangers in there that take up a lot of space, either way here are some pictures.

Hello. What brand of soap and shampoo is on the ship?

In the bathroom, liquid soap is provided via an in-sink dispenser. There is no bar soap for hand washing. In the shower, body wash and shampoo is provided from wall-mounted dispensers. This is all no-name stuff. Not sure if “branded” toiletries are provided in the Yacht-club accommodations or not. Also to note, a shower cap is the only other bathroom essential provided.

What kind of shower doors are in your bathroom? I tried to visualize what you were describing and am confused? Can you elaborate?

Sure. The shower doors are strange. Due to the size of the bathroom, (it’s pretty small), when you’re sitting on the throne, your leg hits the shower door. To make this a little more comfortable, that door opens into the shower creating additional space. The other door swings both in and out. If you push both doors into the shower, you actually have more room in the bathroom, but you have to be careful to mind the ledge of the shower. The design of these doors is strange, but does make the small bathroom a little more manageable.

How is the Internet on the ship?

Expensive, but good.  Not nearly as bad as Holland America Line and Carnival, and not nearly as fast as Quantum of the Seas.  $299 for 24 hours of connectivity is the largest package you can buy, and I’m almost out of hours.  Speed is good and the coverage around the ship is great.  I do occasionally encounter a dead spot, but it’s usually at the aft of the ship.

That’s all for today, it’s a sea day as we head toward Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island that MSC rents for the day. The sun is out, there’s not a cloud in the sky and the temp is in the mid ’70s. While I’m not wearing a Speedo, I do have my bathing suit on and am going to go back to my stateroom, grab that bottle of oil, and as my one friend would say…. “oil up!” and enjoy a day laying in the sun.

Till tomorrow, Ciao!

Personal Day-By-Day MSC Divina Cruise Review:

Photo Tour of the MSC Divina:

Photography is a key aspect of preserving vacation memories, and my recent voyage aboard the MSC Divina was no exception. From the ship’s striking interior design and inviting swimming pools to my own cozy cabin, I captured numerous photos that showcase the highlights of my journey. If you’d like to take a look at my snapshots, feel free to check out the MSC Divina Photo Tour or browse the daily cruise review by clicking on the links provided above.